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Last modified: 22 Dec 2021 11:41am

Photo of two battery recycling station units

The Council and E-Cycle have partnered up to bring a battery recycling programme to the Selwyn community.

It will be the first easily accessible battery recycling programme across the district covering everything from laptop, smartphone and tool batteries to batteries for common household devices.

The free recycling programme will divert batteries from landfill – with batteries previously being either disposed of as rubbish in kerbside bins, or taken to the Pines Resource Recovery Park for disposal as hazardous waste.

New World supermarkets are supporting the Council initiative, with drop off points at New World Rolleston and New World Lincoln as well as at the Darfield Library and Service Centre and the Pines Resource Recovery Park. The Ministry for the Environment has also contributed waste levy funding towards a wider Canterbury program, assisting with some of the initial set up and processing costs.

Council Solid Waste Manager Andrew Boyd says it is another opportunity to make a difference with our waste and to improve our environment.

“It’s great to have support from Kiwi companies and to make the most of international technology to help our community recycle these batteries and keep them out of landfill.

Thousands of tonnes of new batteries are imported into Aotearoa New Zealand every year.

“As the demand for battery powered devices increases, it is increasingly important we maximise recycling and recovering these resources by keeping them out of landfill.”

Improper battery disposal is also a fire risk in kerbside collection trucks and at the recovery park, he says.

When batteries are collected they will be sorted and held until there is sufficient volume to send for recycling in Australia - where 70-90% of the battery is recycled into new batteries or ingredients used in roading mixes and fertilisers. Nickel-cadmium and Lithium-ion batteries are forwarded on to a specialist recycling plant in South Korea.

The service accepts household quantities of the following battery types:

  • Lithium-ion (used in laptops, mobile phones, tools)
  • Alkaline, dry cell and zinc (used in flashlights, radios, remote controls, smoke detectors)
  • Button cell/coin (used in watches, hearing aids)
  • Nickel-cadmium (used in portable electronics, tools, toys)
  • Nickel-metal hydride (used in digital cameras, laptops, mobile phones)

For more information see our battery recycling page.